FILIPE TOHI

Bio

Filipe Tohi

Filipe Tohi was born in Ngele‘ia, Nuku‘alofa, Tonga, andimmigrated to NewZealand in 1978. His contemporarypaintings and sculptures are imbued with his Pacific islandheritage. Filipe is a master craftsman of the traditional art of lalava, theTongan art of binding with coconut sennit, while his sculpturesreflect a pan-Polynesian aesthetic that he sees as a means offostering understanding between cultures. His work speaks not only of his homeland of Tonga, but theexperiences of migrating and living in New Zealand. He workswith a wide variety of media from wood, stone, and wool toindustrial materials such as steel and perspex. Filipe uses naturalmedia to represent the past and steel as a contemporarycomponent:

"For me, stainless steel represents the shiny new structures inthe modern world. Wood is based more in tradition - in naturalthings from our environment."

Filipe has worked on an international level since carving his firstcommission for the New Zealand Embassy in Saudi Arabia in1987. Two years later, he held his first solo exhibition at theGovett Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, New Zealand.Filipe instructed many students during his years at RangimarieArts and Crafts Centre and was a founding member of the TeKupenga in New Plymouth. He has been a full time artist since1990 and has participated in numerous exhibitions around theworld including the UK, Lithuania, France, Germany, USA, andJapan. Filipe has major public sculptures in New Zealand, Fiji,Tonga, Japan, and China.